Girl Power: The Story of Malala

Imagine you’re a young girl living in a society that doesn’t support education for women. You may not even be a
valued member of your family because you will be married off (at a young age) and go to live with your husband
and his family. Men around you often say, “Why send a girl to school? She doesn’t need an education if her job is
to run a house.” You go to the market, but you cannot understand the prices of food because you cannot read or
write.

Without a basic education, girls are increasingly vulnerable to domestic violence,

becoming child brides, contracting HIV/AIDS, experiencing poor health and nutrition,
living in poverty, and continuing this cycle with their own children.1 This kind of life
offers little in the way of hope.

Investment in female education not only increases their income earning potential (for
each additional year of schooling, women’s earnings can rise by 10%), but it improves
the economy, since employed women pay taxes and spend money on goods and
services.2 When women have access to education, their chances of providing for their
families increases and it has a positive effect on their children’s education, health and
future.

Studies show that women do 66% of the world’s work (paid and unpaid), but only
earn 10% of the world’s income.3 The global average gender pay gap is 17 percent
and in developing countries, the disparity is much greater.4 Education for boys tends
to be favoured within families and, on average, men get paid more than women do
for the same work. Sending a girl to school is viewed as less of a financial investment
for parents, so girls are the first to be pulled out of their studies once help is required
at home.

In recent decades, it has become apparent that economic and social development are
directly linked to women’s full enjoyment of human rights. Gender disparities all over
the world are being challenged as people are finding new ways to come together in
order to respond to the human rights violations against girls and women.

Malala Yousafzai is an internationally recognized activist for girl’s education, and in Adapted from GlobalPartnership.org
2014, at age seventeen, became the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace
Prize. Malala was born in Pakistan, the country with the second fewest children in
school.5 With a passion to see education rights extended to every child, Malala began her advocacy at only
thirteen years old as a blogger for BBC. She wrote about her experience living in Pakistan during the Taliban’s rule,
a time when girls were banned from going to school. The international recognition Malala gained from exposing
the injustices that she and so many other school-aged children were experiencing was not well received by the
terrorist group in power.

In 2012, Malala was on her way home from school when she was brutally
attacked by a masked gunman who fired three shots at her. One bullet hit
her in the forehead and went through her shoulder, but Malala
miraculously survived. The attack received international attention, resulting
in major protests across Pakistan and eventually leading to the ratification
of Pakistan’s first-ever Right to Education Bill.

The assassination attempt did not leave Malala fearful or hopeless. Rather,
it encouraged her strength and fueled her ambitions to help lead an Photo credit: NorwayMFA/EpsonRost
international humanitarian organization called The Malala Fund, which
strives to ensure that every girl receives 12 years of free, quality education in a safe environment. The goal is to
empower girls to reach their full potentials and develop the skills they need to positively impact their families and
transform their communities. The Malala Fund works in partnership with political leaders and organizations all over
the world to invest in educational programs, and to advocate for resources and policy changes that result in the
implementation of international women’s rights.

People all over the world have the chance to join the movement and #StandwithMalala in the fight for female
education. Youth and adults alike have the opportunity to raise their voices and make a difference by joining one
of the many social media campaigns such as the #NotLostCampaign that urges world leaders to devote more
funding to support Syrian refugees removed from school due to conflict. Thousands of students are taking action
by forming groups, raising money and awareness to abolish gender inequality, and ensuring equal rights to
education for all girls.

Questions for Discussion:

1. What do you think are some of the challenges women and girls face when they are unable to read and
write?

2. Think about your own life and how your education has, and will continue, to benefit you, your family, and
your community. Why is it important to challenge social/cultural views that claim education for girls is not
important?

3. Gender equality can only exist when men and women have access to the same opportunities in order to
obtain equal distribution of power, influence and social status. How do you think our world would be
different if all girls were able to receive an education? What are ways you could help make education for
all girls a reality?

SOURCES: UNESCO, Global Partnership for Education, OECD, ITUC, Malala Fund, OXFAM, White House, UNESCO
& UN Women.
Sources:

1. UNESCO, 2015. Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges

http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002348/234809E.pdf
2. Global Partnership for Education, 2013. http://www.globalpartnership.org/blog/breaking-down-barriers-
girls-education
3. OECD, 2011. Women’s Economic Empowerment. https://www.oecd.org/dac/gender-
development/47561694.pdf
4. ITUC, 2009. “Gender (In) Equality in the Labour Market: An Overview of Global Trends and Developments
2009”. Brussels. http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/GAP-09_EN.pdf
5. Malala Fund. https://www.malala.org
6. OXFAM, 2016. Making Women Count: The Unequal Economics of Women’s Work
http://www.oxfam.ca/make-women-count
7. Working Together to Open the Doors of Education for Girls around the World.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/letgirlslearn
8. UNESCO, 2015. A Guide for Gender Equality in Teacher Education Policy and Practices.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002316/231646e.pdf
9. UN Women: Progress Towards Meeting the MDGs for Women and Girls: www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-
focus/mdg-momentum